Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, 2nd Edition

This is the most authoritative and in-depth book on seed sewing, growing, and saving that I have ever read. It is not a picture book or a basic introductory book - rather this is the book you go to when you have a specific plant, and you're not sure how to start the seeds, or how long the seeds will keep in storage, or how exactly to capture pollen and hand pollinate plants when your natural pollinators are absent. It has an overview of seed propagation and breeding information, including things like how pollination works, and what the different kinds of pollinators are, different kinds of seed processing techniques, how to store the seeds, and then it goes into an in-depth, family by family, plant by plant, everything you ever needed to know guide. This was very useful when I wanted to grow corn, and everyone said you can't grow corn if you only have a few plants. What I found was, you can grow corn, you just have to make sure you help the pollination along (and she shows you how in illustrations), and you probably won't get good results from any seeds you save because corn plants need a wide variety of genes to be healthy. But growing seeds from a packet - only a little hand holding needed. I have also found that this book has useful information on growing plants, and which varieties work well in which region. When I was looking up corn, it talked about which varieties to grow in New England, what problems are prevalent in New England, and how to deal with the various pests in the area. When I wanted to save my sunflower seeds for a tasty snack - she showed me the best time to pick the flowers, how to keep them away from the squirrels (and blue jays, and other critters), and how to dry them so the seeds were easier to separate. When I was curious as to why some of my black beans actually looked like the nearby empress beans, this book had the answer, and also what to expect if I actually wanted to try to plant them. The only thing I would wish for more of is illustrations. She gives descriptions on how to pick and process each type of seed, but sometimes I wasn't sure if I had the right plant, or if it was THIS part or THAT part. In some cases (such as the corn pollination), there were illustrations to help, but sometimes I wished for more. If you are looking for a single reference book on seed sewing, seed saving, plant breeding, or seed varieties that are best for your area - this is the book for you. A very well done, very authoritative and detailed book.

Whether you're an ordinary gardener or a doomsday prepper looking for a book on how to grow life-saving food, this is the book you want. It goes over every single common plant out there, and explains everything from how to properly plant seeds and care for your plants, to how to pollinate and propagate more seeds for future crops, to which plants grow best in which regions. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Love this seed saving book. Breaks done your varieties into what you have to worry about cross pollinating during the growing season that could affect the genetic stock, as well as goes over seed saving do's and don'ts. Well worth the investment and nice quality for the price!

I was going to give it a three star, but decided on four stars. My reason for deciding four stars is more of a personal preference. I find the book to have amazing information that is necessary. It's packed with info and a decent amount of it. On the other hand it's a very boring book to read. It's all black and white (including the photos), so you won't have any visual detail or be able to see how certain seeds or plants look. You most definitely won't see any distinguishing characteristics. I feel the book was made cheaply. The pages are extra thick to make the book thicker and I honestly just don't enjoy researching or learning with it. Like I said, it's a personal preference. There's many other books that have visual interest. I'm a visual learner and like to SEE Photographs in color and as they are. Might be good for somebody else. My rating is a THREE star, but it's not fair to give three star because of my own preferences.

I recently bought this book. If you plan to save seeds, you need the information in this book. Some seeds are not as simple as remove, dry and then store until ready to plant. What the book gives you: A brief history of the plant. It doesn't spend a lot of time on this but does provide some history if it is known. Pollination, crossing and isolation of the plant. It goes into detail on this part which can be important. It gives enough information that should prevent mistakes such as crossbreeding when you don't want to crossbreed. Seed production, harvest and processing. This section gives info on when to pick fruit to save the seeds and what if any special steps need to be taken for them to be viable. For some plants, this is important. Seed statistics. This gives info about how long seeds can be stored. It also talks about seeds per ounce and germination rates. Regional growing. This talks about information that may be specific to a region. For one plant, it talks about seven different regions of the USA. While the book is encyclopedic in arrangement, just looking up the seed you want to save in the back takes you right where you need to go. I only have one book for saving seeds. With the info this book has, I don't think a second book would add anything I need.

This book is a fabulous reference on seeds, saving seeds, information on the plants, and even the planting of the seeds/tubers, etc for each zone in the US. For a seed saving guide this book is amazing! The only issue that I had was that the book was written from the authors own interaction with the plants, and in some cases, in your location, you may need to look a little further into other sources for planting guides in your area. But hey... I didn't even expect a planting guide to be included, and especially not specific to growing zones, so total bonus for all of the pertinent information on planting that was included.

Arrived on time and we’ll packaged, in good condition. It’s packed with the information you need to save seeds and is arranged by the species of plants. There’s a small section that explains the growth and saving of seeds for each type of plant. All you need is in here! I’d definitely recommend it!

Such a helpful book for new gardeners. I learned so much about plants and seeds, cannot wait to apply this to our future garden ♡